Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
by Alex Evans | Dec 15, 2009
… but I think I have just discovered the greatest quotation of all time.
It is 1987. Mike Tyson is harrassing a little-known model called Naomi Campbell at a swanky drinks party in New York. Seeing a damsel in distress, who should ride to her rescue but… AJ Ayer!
Now read on:
TYSON: Do you know who the fuck I am? I’m the heavyweight champion of the world.
AYER: And I am the former Wykeham Professor of Logic. We are both pre-eminent in our field. I suggest that we talk about this like rational men.
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Alex Evans is founder of Larger Us, which explores how we can use psychology to reduce political tribalism and polarisation, a senior fellow at New York University, and author of The Myth Gap: What Happens When Evidence and Arguments Aren’t Enough? (Penguin, 2017).
He is a former Campaign Director of the 50 million member global citizen’s movement Avaaz, special adviser to two UK Cabinet Ministers, climate expert in the UN Secretary-General’s office, and was Research Director for the Business Commission on Sustainable Development.
Alex lives with his wife and two children in Yorkshire.
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